Macfarlanes advises James Hay Holdings on its recommended offer for Nucleus Financial Group plc

James Hay, a market leading provider of self-invested personal pensions, will combine with investment platform Nucleus to form one of the largest independent investor platforms in the UK wealth management market, with around £45bn of assets under administration from nearly 160,000 investors. The transaction values Nucleus at approximately £144.62m.

The Macfarlanes team was led by corporate and M&A partners Stephen Drewitt, Richard Burrows and Adam Campbell with assistance from senior solicitor Felicity Powell. Advice on the financial elements was provided by finance partner Kirstie Hutchinson and solicitor Owen Giles.

Stephen Drewitt comments: “Having supported Epiris with the original take private of IFG Group plc in 2019 (which was the original listed parent company of James Hay), it was a real pleasure to advise Epiris and James Hay on the next chapter of James Hay’s growth. The combination of James Hay and Nucleus will be a transformational deal, creating a leading financial planning and retirement-focused platform with the scale to enable greater investment in technology, products and service.”